The Last Cuentista, by Donna Barba Higuera, is such a good book. Strong characters, fascinating family dynamics, storytelling... And a run for the stars as the world crumbles around the characters. And that's just the beginning. Seriously, this is a fabulous story that makes me think about the importance of…
The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron reminds me (in all the best ways) of the Ramona books I loved as a kid.
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! surprised me. First of all, it's not fiction--at least, not exactly. It's a series of brilliant, connected, historical, one-person monologues. Apparently, it came out of a research seminar that a library was doing for young people on middle age life. The final project was meant to be…
I wouldn't have guessed that Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book was my kind of book. I'm not usually into the macabre or horror. But it is. It really is.I like the strongly developed characters in here. They're quirky, but not so quirky that they seem flat or impossible.I also like…
Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me is a beautifully written book that walks a tightrope strung between reality and fantasy--or maybe sci-fi.Miranda is a latchkey kid, and the neighbor boy she's been friends with forever seems to suddenly want nothing to do with her. An exploration of friendship follows. Miranda…
Clare Vanderpool's Moon over Manifest immerses readers in a small town where a new girl is discovering herself and her roots all at once. Abilene Tucker wants to ride the rails with her father. Unfortunately, he has sent her to Manifest for the summer (or maybe longer). He seems to…
Jack Gantos's Dead End in Norvelt is a funny middle-grade book about a young man growing up in a town founded by Eleanor Roosevelt. Jack gets in trouble with his parents and spends the rest of the book grounded. His only amusement is helping the eccentric neighbor woman, Miss Volker.…
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate is a sweet, well-written book. It features a gorilla who makes art (and throws his own scat) in a small cage in a run-down mall circus. The story is told from Ivan's point of view (Ivan is the gorilla). Instead of being…
If you need a fun, quick read that’s delightfully magical and laugh-out-loud funny, Flora & Ulysses is a great pick.Flora is a wonderful character. Smart and cynical, she nonetheless manages to be be sweet. Also, her ability to accept the incredible (but true) is refreshing.I wonder, in fact, if that…
The Crossover, by Kwame Alexander, is a gorgeous novel in verse. In lyrical language it sings…and seduces…and transports. In fact, The Crossover is a bit magical. I know that, because partway through reading it, I imagined I actually wanted to get out and play basketball.Anyone who knows me will understand the…
I have loved The Girl Who Drank the Moon since I first read it when my daughter picked it up for a contest back when she was in fifth grade. So, several years, now.Like all the best fantasies, this one immerses me in a world that feels both familiar and…
In Merci Suárez Changes Gears, Merci lives in las casitas–three pink houses in a row in Florida that she shares with not just her immediate family, but also her extended family.Lolo and Abuela live in the middle house, and much of this book is about Merci’s relationship with Lolo. Just…
New Kid, by Jerry Craft was 2020’s Newbery award winner. Like other Newberys, it is incredibly well-written, and rich in detail. It has well-rounded characters and a tale that tugs on my heartstrings. Unlike any other Newbery I’ve read, it is also a graphic novel. The artwork is gorgeous, and…
I’ve often heard that Sarah, Plain and Tall is a very good book, but somehow I hadn’t read it before.It’s a deceptively simple story, short, with easy-to-read language. Despite its simplicity, the story packs a big emotional punch.Sarah, who is in fact plain and tall, comes from her home near…
I read Bridge to Terabithia once long ago, and my memory of it was fuzzy–only that it was a very good book, and that it made me sad.When a student needed to read it for a class, I was glad to pick up a copy and read along. And, having…
This book has been on my shelf for quite some time, and somehow I never felt like picking it up. Maybe the cover was too bland. Maybe the Newbery sticker faded into the sand. I don’t know.This weekend, though, I picked it up off the shelf, and wow.I like Stanley…
Such a good book–and if I found myself a bit disappointed in the end, it’s only because the rest of the book was so astonishingly intense. For hours, I lived in the mind of Sara Louise Bradshaw, a girl growing up in the shadow of her beautiful and talented twin–feeling…
It’s easy to see why Hello, Universe won the Newbery this year. The kids in this story are quirky, delightfully complex, and easy to believe in and sympathize with. Even Chet, the stereotypical bully, is not nearly so stereotypical as he first appears.Don’t get me wrong. He’s still a bully,…